The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended until November 12, 2013, the period for submission of comments, scientific data and other information related to its draft guidance titled “Arsenic in Apple Juice: Action Level.” Originally published in the July 15 Federal Register, the guidance proposes an action level of 10 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in apple juice, which FDA considers “protective of human health and achievable with the use of good manufacturing practices.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set the same level for arsenic in drinking water. FDA extended the deadline in response to a request “to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.” More details about the proposed rule appear in Issue 490 of this Update. See Federal Register, September 13, 2013.
Tag Archives arsenic
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that after testing 1,300 samples of rice and rice products for the presence of arsenic, the agency has determined that although the levels varied significantly depending on the product tested, the amount of detectable arsenic is “too low” to cause any “immediate or short-term adverse health effects.” The new findings represent the latest of the agency’s ongoing efforts to manage possible arsenic-related risks associated with the consumption of rice in the United States. FDA has apparently been monitoring arsenic levels in rice for more than 20 years and has seen no evidence of change in levels of total arsenic in rice. The agency’s next step will be to use new tools that provide greater specificity about different types of arsenic present in foods to analyze the effect of long-term exposure to low levels of arsenic in rice. It plans to conduct…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed “an ‘action level’ of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice,” the same level established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. According to a July 12, 2013, press release, FDA set this threshold based on its latest analysis of organic and inorganic arsenic in apple juice as part of its draft guidance to industry. “The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of the American food supply and to doing what is necessary to protect public health,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “We have been studying this issue comprehensively, and based on the agency’s data and analytical work, the FDA is confident in the overall safety of apple juice for children and adults.” The agency will accept comments on the proposed action level and draft guidance for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.…
U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), have written a letter to the Office of Management and Budget asking for the release of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) voluntary industry guidelines for levels of arsenic in fruit juices currently under review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Citing studies that have found “concerning” levels of arsenic in food and beverages, DeLauro and Pallone assert that FDA’s guidance document will be “instrumental” to industry members and consumers in their efforts to address “this public health issue.” It is “inexcusable that the guidelines are stalled while consumers continue to be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of arsenic,” the letter states. “Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen that can increase the risk of bladder, lung and skin cancers, [which is] particularly concerning because children consume large quantities of juice and may be at risk for more harmful…
Scientists presenting at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society have reportedly identified elevated levels of arsenic in some beers sold in Germany. According to Mehmet Coelhan, who conducted the study of 140 beers as part of a monitoring program, “the discovery could be of importance for breweries and other food processors elsewhere that use the same filtering technology implicated in the elevated arsenic levels in some German beers.” The team concluded that arsenic was released into the beer from a filtering material called “kieselguhr, or diatomaceous earth, that’s used to remove yeast, hops and other particles and give the beer a crystal clear appearance.” According to Coelhan, “The resulting arsenic levels were only slightly elevated, and it is not likely that people would get sick from drinking beers made with this filtration method because of the arsenic. The arsenic is still at low levels—the risk of…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a March 12, 2013, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion at the 7th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods in Moscow on April 8–12, 2013. Agenda items include (i) proposed draft maximum levels for Deoxynivalenol in cereals and cereal-based products; (ii) proposed draft revisions of maximum levels for lead in selected commodities in the general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed; (iii) a proposed draft code of practice for preventing and reducing Ochratoxin A contamination in cocoa; and (iv) a discussion paper on the development of a code of practice for preventing and reducing arsenic contamination in rice. See Federal Register, February 27, 2013.
University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, Davis, researchers have published a study examining the health effects of foodborne toxin exposure in children and adults. Rainbow Vogt, et al., “Cancer and noncancer health effects from food contaminant exposures for children and adults in California: a risk assessment,” Environmental Health, November 2012. Based on self-reported food frequency data as well as food chemical levels obtained from publicly available databases, the study estimated exposure to multiple food contaminants for preschool age children (2-4 years), school-age children (5-7 years), parents of young children, and older adults. The results allegedly showed that cancer benchmark levels “were exceeded by all children (100%) for arsenic, dieldrin, DDE, and dioxins,” while non-cancer benchmarks were exceeded by more than 95 percent of preschool-age children for acrylamide and by 10 percent of preschool-age children for mercury. The data also indicated that “the greatest exposure to pesticides from…
U.S. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) have sent letters to eight companies requesting information about arsenic levels in rice products. Waxman and DeGette have asked Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp., Carolina Rice, Della Rice, Earth’s Best, Nestlé Nutrition’s Gerber Rice, Jazzmen Rice, Martin Farms, and Whole Foods Market to respond by November 8, 2012, with details about their practices for monitoring and limiting the amount of arsenic in their rice products. In requesting this information, Waxman and DeGette pointed to studies authored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Consumer Reports purportedly showing “worrisome” levels of inorganic arsenic “in popular brands of rice and rice products like rice cereal, breakfast cereal, and rice cakes.” The lawmakers have requested all company documents related to arsenic testing as well as those describing any health risk assessments undertaken on each company’s behalf. “FDA is currently in the process of analyzing 1,000 more rice…
NBC’s Open Channel blog has reported “an inexplicable epidemic in Central America, where more than 16,000 people—mostly sugarcane workers— have died from incurable chronic kidney disease [CKD].” According to Open Channel, “hundreds, if not thousands” of people in the sugar-producing city of Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, have allegedly contracted CKD, which has apparently increased “five-fold in the last two decades” throughout the region and turned up in parts of India and Sri Lanka. Citing the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), NBC’s Kerry Sander and Lisa Riordan summarize the unique profile of CKD in sugarcane workers who do not exhibit the obesity, diabetes and hypertension often linked to the disease in developed countries like the United States. “It affects people who don’t have diabetes or hypertension, which are the usual risks factors for chronic kidney disease,” one CPI reporter told the blog. “No one can figure out what it is that’s making all…
After testing more than 200 rice products, Consumer Reports purportedly found levels of total arsenic, both organic and inorganic, far in excess of the federal limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for arsenic in drinking water. Among the products tested were baby cereals, crackers, milk, pasta, flour, and an array of brown, white and basmati rice. One infant cereal product apparently contained up to 329 ppb of arsenic. Consumer Reports recommended that consumers cook their rice in twice the amount of water, 6 cups to 1 cup of rice, eat a varied diet and experiment with other grains that are less prone to absorbing arsenic from soil and water as they grow. Its investigation included a data analysis by researchers experienced in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) analyses. They found that of 3,633 rice consumers who participated in NHANES, those consuming one rice food item before their urine…
